How to make an application run continuously in android?

Question

I am creating an application which sends the location information to the server. But when the back or home button is clicked the application is stopped. Is there a way to make the application run continuously in background and sends data to the server ?

Answer 1

Use a background Service. Services are application components which can run in the background without user interaction. A good tutorial on Service in android is from this.

You probably want to start the service on launch of your Activity, or you can register for system broadcasts like BOOT_COMPLETE to keep your service running from boot up.

However, keeping your service running throughout without user knowledge is a bad idea, and drains battery also. You probably want to wake up the service using AlarmManager, do processing, schedule next restart, and exit.

Answer 2

You need to run a Service class for your own application.

Refer docs for more information.